Matlock Bath Pavilion lease taken over by community group

The building, which dates from 1910, contains a museum and community centre

A charity has signed a lease to take over a historic building in Derbyshire that has been partly closed for the past four years.

Matlock Bath's Grand Pavilion, which is home to a museum, was used as a nightclub until 2008.

The Matlock Bath Pavilion Group will lease the building from the Derbyshire Dales District Council for three years.

It means the group can begin to apply for £2m in grants to renovate the property.

At the end of the lease, the charity has the option of buying the pavilion for £1.

Charity chairman Gregor Macgregor said: "I am so pleased to see us move to the next stage of the plan, which I laid out two years ago."

The community group has published details of a plan to install a 400-seat theatre while keeping an existing mining museum, community centre and playgroup.

The group has set up The Grand Pavilion Ltd to allow it to oversee the renovations and restorations, and will run the building as a charitable trust.